The Aurora Humanitarian Initiative announces a call for applications for new research grants. The Vartan Gregorian Scholarship (Research Grants) Program will support exceptional early-career scholars and researchers, with a specific focus on historians and social scientists, in their efforts to study the unexplored questions of the 20th century history of Armenia.

The first phase of the five-year scholarship program will focus on Armenian scholars and researchers from Armenia under the age of 35. The second and third phases of the scholarship program will be expanded to include scholars and researchers in the global Armenian diaspora and beyond. The scholarship program will award two $30,000 grants per year.

“Universities and scholars play a critical role in asking and answering the questions that concern mankind. The Vartan Gregorian Scholarship supports the spirit of inquiry and study that Vartan himself embodies. We are proud that the scholarship will enrich the body of knowledge about Armenia and will augment the contributions of Armenian scholarship”, said Ruben Vardanyan, Co-founder of the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative. “We are making this announcement today, on Holy Translators Day, in the spirit of commitment to the foundational, cross-cultural exchange that the 5th century Translators introduced to the Armenian world. The Vartan Gregorian Scholarship will celebrate this man and this tradition.”

The Vartan Gregorian Scholarship (Research Grants) Program was created to strengthen connections between Armenian and international research institutions, building on the deep and rich scholarly tradition of Armenia. With the support of the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative and experts in the field of Armenian Studies, the Scholae Mundi education platform will play a key role in the implementation of the program.

The scholarship program was created by the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative in consultation with experts in the field of Armenian Studies, to advance scholarly research in Armenia and on Armenian topics internationally. The experts who were consulted by the Initiative have included: Hratch Tchilingirian, Associate Faculty Member of Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford; Hayk Demoyan, Doctor of Historical Sciences and former Director of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute; and Levon Chookaszian, Head of Chair of History and Theory of Armenian Art, Yerevan State University.

Each application will be reviewed by a five-member international Selection Board comprised of prominent scholars:

Ronald G. Suny, the William H. Sewell Jr. Distinguished University Professor of History, University of Michigan and Emeritus Professor of Political Science and History, the University of Chicago

George Bournoutian, Senior Professor of History, Iona College

Hratch Tchilingirian, Associate Faculty Member of Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford

Levon Chookaszian, Head of Chair of History and Theory of Armenian Art, Yerevan State University

Hayk Demoyan, Doctor of Historical Sciences and former Director of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute

Welcoming the call for applications, Ronald G. Suny said, “A small investment in a promising scholar at the beginning of her or his career rebounds many fold as that researcher continues through time to contribute to our knowledge of the world. The Vartan Gregorian Scholarship will bear fruit many decades after its first seeds are planted.”

The application process will be conducted online and will be open until December 1, 2018. All applicants will be requested to submit:

A research proposal in English (maximum of 2,000 words, double spaced, 12pt font)